Weekly Parent Newsletter

Happy New Year! The end of the year is a time for reflecting and setting goals for the year ahead. Our staff and students are back at school and ready to kick the 2024 year into high gear!

We are excited to share that over the last month, we have hired exceptional individuals to fill the last of our current vacancies. This marks the first time in a long time that we are fully staffed, with the exception of one new job posting. Please help us welcome the following individuals to our STEM Community:

• Chris Damour, Director of Facilities
• Brian Chaput, Director of Human Resources
• Jennifer Newhouse, Secondary Business Teacher
• Liza Gober, First Grade Teacher

The annual election cycle will begin in Mid-April for the open Parent seat. If you'd like to be considered a candidate for the KOSON/STEM BOD Elections, please email stem.board@stemk12.org. One of our Board members will respond with opportunities for interested families to meet to ask questions about what the Board does.

A candidate interest form will be distributed in March for those who would like to be considered as a candidate. Information from that form will be used to create a Candidate Book to circulate amongst the STEM Community via the Weekly Newsletter to help inform our community of the candidates.

Click on the STEM Events Calendar to see everything that is happening at STEM. We've added Enrichment and Athletic Events to the calendar as well. Upcoming events include:

• Monday, Jan. 15 - No School - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  
• Wednesday, Jan. 17 (3:30-5:30 p.m.) - STEM School Highlands Ranch Spelling Bee (ES Gym)
• Wednesday, Jan. 17 (4:30 & 6 p.m.) - Boys Basketball vs. Lotus School (Secondary Gym)
• Wednesday, Jan. 17 (5:30-7:30 p.m.) - STEM SAC Meeting (Mechatronics/Zoom)
• Thursday, Jan. 18 (4-5:30 p.m.) - DEI Committee Meeting (Room E206)
• Friday, Jan. 19 (All Day) - Blue Day for Secondary Students)
• Friday, Jan. 19 (4:30 & 6 p.m.) - Boys Basketball vs. William Smith (Secondary Gym)
• Monday, Jan. 22 (5-7:30 p.m.) - Love and Logic Parent Night (Zoom & HS Commons)
• Monday, Jan. 22 (4:30 & 6 p.m.) - Boys Basketball vs. Alameda (Secondary Gym)
• Thursday, Jan. 25 (5:30-6:30 p.m. - Middle School Course Selection Information Night (Middle School Cafe)
• Thursday, Jan. 25 (7-8 p.m.) - High School Course Selection Information Night (Middle School Cafe)
• Saturday, Jan. 27 (7-10 p.m.) - High School Winter Formal (Secondary Gym)

In this week's Elementary News, you can find information about:

• STEM Spelling Bee
  
• STEM Monthly SAC Meeting
• Monthly DEI Committee Meeting
• Love and Logic Parent Information Night
• 2024-25 Middle School Course Selection Parent Information Night (IMPORTANT FOR FIFTH GRADE FAMILIES)
  
• STEM's Got Talent Auditions
• Resources from the Back Pack Society
• Important Elementary School Driveline Reminders
• Uplift: Divorce Support Group for Students
  
• Reminder! Check your MySchoolBucks Account
• And more

In this week's Secondary News, you can find information about:

• STEM Spelling Bee
  
• STEM Monthly SAC Meeting
• Monthly DEI Committee Meeting
• Love and Logic Parent Information Night
• Middle and High School Academic Course Selection Parent Information Night
• High School Winter Formal
• STEM's Got Talent Auditions
• Resources from the Back Pack Society
• FBLA District 11 Conference Judge Request
• January Access Update
• Reminder! Please check your MySchoolBucks
  
• Mastery Connect Tutorial and Videos
• Important PSAT and CMAS Testing Information
• SAT Essay Opt-Out Information
• Internships
• Boston Parent Information Meeting Video
• So Much More!
  

Want to see all the Good Things happening at STEM? Check out our Sharing Our Good News post. Each week we share photos, videos and information about the Good News that has happened that week.

Each week we'll share important Athletics News with our community. Updates are written by Athletics Director Susan Jones. In this week's update:

• Next Boys' Basketball Game:
• Wednesday, Jan. 17 (4:30 & 6 p.m.) - Boys Basketball vs. Lotus School (Secondary Gym)
• Friday, Jan. 19 (4:30 & 6 p.m.) - Boys Basketball vs. William Smith (Secondary Gym)
• Basketball Tickets Being Sold Online
  
• New Athletics Website!
• Watch Spartans Live!

Enrichment at STEM is the place students can find all of the school’s after-school, summer, and other enrichment offerings.

• Donate to STEM's Enrichment Program
• Elementary, Middle and High School Club Registrations

We ask that all families contribute 30 hours (or more) of volunteering to STEM. Families can give of their time or make a Volunteer-Hour Donation. See all the opportunities available:

• Volunteer sign ups in Raptor Volunteer Portal
  
• Lunchroom helper
• Driveline helper
• Vision and Hearing Screening Volunteers (Need 24)
• Click here to sign up for Vision and Hearing Screening Food Donations
• Our Health Room needs donations - Click here for the Amazon Wishlist
  
• Donate snacks for Enrichment Clubs
  
• Staff's Amazon Wishlists
• Make a Volunteer-Hours Donation via MySchoolBucks

Volunteering is easy. Once you're approved in our Raptor System, browse the Upcoming Events in the Volunteer Portal and sign-up! Your Volunteer Hours will automatically be logged when you sign-in for the event.

Each week our STEM PTO puts together a newsletter for our community, sharing information about upcoming events and opportunities to get involved.